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Great Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has given a bold statement on Rishabh Pant’s decision to step down from the captaincy of Lucknow Super Giants even before the end of the IPL 2026 season.
Ahead of the IPL 2026 final between Gujarat Titans and Royal Challengers Bangalore, Rishabh Pant stepped down as LSG captain after another disappointing season where the team finished bottom of the table with only four wins from 14 matches.
Sunil Gavaskar felt sad for Rishabh Pant after leaving the captaincy of LSG.
It was shocking that Rishabh Pant himself asked to step down from the captaincy role and the franchise openly accepted it. The â‚ą27 crore star has failed miserably as both captain and batsman since joining LSG.
Now, Sunil Gavaskar has shared his views on the shocking development. The former Indian captain explained how Pant had several times mentioned the confusion inside the Lucknow Supergiants setup due to too many voices and ideas coming from different directions.
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LSG has many big names in its coaching setup like Justin Langer, Tom Moody, Bharat Arun, Lance Klusener and Kane Williamson. That being said, the mix of so many opinions has made things complicated for Rishabh Pant and Gavaskar is excited to see the changes coming to the team.
Conversation is poor: Sunil Gavaskar’s blunt opinion on LSG coaching setup
Sunil Gavaskar, in his column for Sportstar, wrote: “Rishabh Pant stepping down from the captaincy of his team, which finished bottom of the table, is the first change in captaincy for next season, as there could be many more changes before the new season starts next year.
He said on more than one occasion that he had a lot of voices in his ears and a lot of thought processes, which is certainly not a compliment to the support staff. It will be interesting to see if this will bring about sweeping changes to the franchise.
Criticizing the LSG support staff for too much interference, the great batsman wrote, “Talking is easy, and it’s cheap too, and making big claims like some coaches do may make for good headlines, but cricket has a strange way of cutting out the negative side.”
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Other teams should learn: Sunil Gavaskar praises Andy Flower after RCB wins back-to-back IPL titles
Meanwhile, the 1983 World Cup winner also praised Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) head coach Andy Flower. RCB have now won two consecutive IPL titles and Gavaskar praised Flower for allowing his players to focus on their game without any noise.
The great cricketer said that coaches of other IPL teams should learn from Flower and the RCB support staff to keep things simple and stable to become a successful team.
Gavaskar signed off by saying, “RCB coach Andy Flower, who has now won two titles in a row, is a good example of someone who works quietly, making headlines without making any big statements. And he doesn’t even have a golfing and beer-drinking friend as a member of his support staff. Maybe there’s a lesson there. If only the people who appointed him could see this, their teams won’t be out of contention even before the first month of the tournament is over.”
